Removable transom construction

ABSTRACT

An outboard motor mounting for a boat includes frame means of the boat, upstanding extensions on said frame means containing recesses, a transom extending between said extensions with the ends seated in said recesses, and means for balancing, latching and securing the transom to said extensions, whereby said motortransom combination may be removed as a unit for ease of handling.

United States Patent 1 [451 July 31, 1973 REMOVABLE TRANSOM CONSTRUCTION [75 Inventor: Gordon Y W. owil ear l Cit yt Hawaii [73] Assignee: Go-Cratt Systems, Inc., Honolulu,

Hawaii [22] Filed: Oct. 14, 1971 [2]] App]. No.: 189,081

[52] US. Cl 115/17, 115/] R, 248/4 [51] Int. Cl B63h 21/26 [53] Field of Search 248/4, 201, 224;

' ll5/l R, 17

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1959 Lewis et al 248/4 X 7/1955 Ploufi 3/1956 Pottsetal ll5/l7X Fowler 248/4 Primary Examiner-William H. Schultz Attorney-Lowe and King [5 7] ABSTRACT An outboard motor mounting for a boat includes frame means of the boat, upstanding extensions on said frame means containing recesses, a transom extending between said extensions with the ends seated in said recesses, and means for balancing, latching and securing the transom to said extensions, whereby said motortransom combination may be removed as a unit for ease of handling.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 1 REMOVABLE TRANSOM CONSTRUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION land campers, are also now being made into-a practical reality by new inventions, such as shown inmyprevious application for United States patent, Ser. No. 883,157, filed Dec. 8, 1969. Therefore, problems created by the greater demands placed upon the boat versatility are added to the existing problems associated with boat storage and maintenance.

The increased number of dock clubs will ameliorate, but not solve, the problems of storage and maintenance. These dock clubs, however, in now way contribute to the solving of the problems associated with the newly demanded versatility. This invention is primarily concerned with this last problem, but has a strong effect upon the other problems enumerated. By allowing a boat owner to easily attach and detach the motor of his boat, this owner can easily convert the vehicle to a land camper, substitute a heavy duty motor for a light one or vice versa for specialized boating requirements, remove the motor for storage or for ease in transporting the boat on long trips, or merely simplify his maintenance problems.

Thus, the main purpose or objective of this invention is simply put as providing the boat or amphibious vehicle owner with an easy and inexpensive methode of removingv the outboard motor from his boat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The motor mounting of the present invention allows easy removal of the outboard motor from a boat or amphibious vehicle by allowing removal of the supporting transom while the motor is still securely mounted thereon. Upstanding frame extensions are connected to the boat or the vehicle frame and each is provided with a pivotal bolt and wind nut on the top; said bolt being botton-hinged to the extensions thereby allowing it to swing vertically. The transom is placed into a recessed area provided in the upper portion of the upstanding extensions and is secured by a latch whose lowere end is connected to said extnsions by a hinge. A shoulder adjacent the bottom of the hinge balances the transom until the latch is drawn up into place and secured by the pivotal bolt and wing nut by swinging down and into a U-shaped recess provided in the upper end of said latch. Lateral movement of the transom is prevented, by making the upright extensions in the form of a box frame member'and retaining the outside portion or wall to allow butting of the endof the transom.

All of the components of this assembly can be constructed and reinforced according to the boats expected uses. A conventional double jackscrew clamp can be provided for attaching the motor to the transom which will allow easy removal of the transom from the motor itself, as desired. The transom-frame recess combination is an important feature of this invention because it allows theentire motor to be easily detached thereby enhancing the boat's value by increasing its versatility as well as easing its storage and maintenance problems.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION Therefore, as can be seen from the above brief description, a broad object of the present invention is to provide easy removal of an outboard motor from a boat.

Another object of this invention is to provide easy handling of the detached motor by one man with a mechanical fork lift or hand crank device similar to an automobile lift.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an outboard motor support that faciliates easy storage of the detached motor for an owner of several motors or for a display by a boating manufacturer or retail sales outlet.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a removable motor support wherein the transom prior to latching is held in position by a should reinforced by the hinge on the bottom of the latch that attaches the transom to the upright extensions.

Still another object of this invention is to provide easy latching of the transom by the pivotal bolt and wing nut combination which is hinged to the top of the upright extensions.

Still another object of this invention is to prevent lateral movement of the transom by retaining the outside portion or wall of the upstanding extension in the recessed area.

Still other objects and advantages of this invention will be readily apparent to those familiar with outboard motors. The detailed description will show and describe only the preferred embodiment of the invention, simply by way of the embodiment contemplated by me of carrying out my invention. As will be realized the invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modification in various obvious aspects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and descriptions are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of an amphibious vehicle with an outboard motor attached to upstanding frame extensions in the rear;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the latching mechanism and motor-transom combination; and

FIG. 3 is a detailed side view partially in cross section of the latching mechanism shown in the latched position securing the transom-motor combination in place.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference toFIGS. l and 2, a more detailed description of the invention can now be made. Thus, the outboard motor mounting envisioned by the present invention may be described as a motor mounting assembly 10 attached to upstanding extensions 11 from integral frame means 12 of an amphibious vehicle B. The mounting assembly 10 is thus spaced from and external of the stem of the vehicle B and includes a pair of bottom hinged bolts 13 and wing nuts 14, one on the top of each extension 11 and which swing vertically downward into the U-shaped recess 15 to secure latch L in place.

A transom T also forming a part of the assembly fits into recess R provided in the upper portion of upright extension 11. The recess R is formed by cutting out the inside facing walls and the rearwardly facing walls of the box frame members 16 that form the extensions 11, as best shown in FIG. 2.

The latch L is bottom hinged on the frame member 16 to swing upward around transom T. Said bottom hinge forms shoulder S extending upwardly into the recess R, shown in FIG. 3, to retain the transom T when said latch L is open. The shoulder S thus serves to balance and secure the transom T in place until latch L is drawn up around said transom.

Upwardly extending edge 17 of the inside wall forms the vertical weight bearing edge or seat for the transom T. It has been found that this edge support holds the transom T more securely and resists shifting by forming a concentrated area of force due to the weight of the motor, and it also allows easier exact leveling during manufacture since only a small amount of metal needs to be removed from the edge 17 on the high side. The transom T butts up against outside facing walls 20 and forward walls 21 of the upright extensions 11 to secure said transom in place when the latch L has been pivoted up into position (FIG. 3). Upward movement is prevented by the offset portion 22 of the latch L.

The transom is thus shown in the latched, secured position in FIG. 3. As can be seen, removal of the transom T with the motor attached is easily accomplished by merely loosing the wing nut 14, pivoting the bolt 13 upwardly and then the latch L rearwardly. A small lifting movement clears the shoulder S and the transom T and motor M combination can be easily handled and stored.

By referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen that transom T readily adapts to a variety of mechanical lifts and could easily be stored on suitable brackets placed on a wall in a showroom or garage.

If the integral frame member 12 of a particular vehicle is not available, the asembly 10 of the invention can be attached to the back of a boat by simply mounting upright extensions 11 on the frame of the boat that does exist. By properly contouring recess R, the transom T can be held in a vertical position even though the back of the boat is itself at a different angle.

From the foregoing, it can be seen that an improved design of outboard motor mounting has been provided which leadd itself to greater benefits in terms of adding versatility to the boat and easing the associated problems Also, maintenance is made less burdensome by allowing easy access to and handling of the motor, as well as providing a simple method of wall storage.

In this disclosure there is shown and described only the preferred embodiments of the invention, but as aforementioned, it is to be understood that the invention is capable of various changes or modifications within the scope of the inventive concept as expressed by the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. An outboard motor mounting assembly for attachment to reinforcing frame means of a vehicle comprising upstanding extensions attached to said frame means and adjacent to the stern but external of said vehicle, opposing recessees in said extensions, a portable transom for attachment of said outboard motor extending between said extensions and with the ends seated therein, and means for removably latching said transom in position in said recesses in said extensions with the motor in operating position whereby the thrust of the motor is borne solely by said frame means and the motor and transom may be easily removed for storage as a unit.

2. The assembly in claim 1 wherein the upstanding extensions are integrally attached to exterior frame means.

3. The assembly in claim 1 wherein said extensions are formed of box frame members and said recesses are formed by the rear walls and opposing inside walls cut out, the outside and forward walls being utilized to position said transom.

4. The assembly in claim 3 wherein is provided pivotal latch means at the upper edge of said rear wall to secure said transom against removal.

5. The assembly in claim 4 wherein the latch means is provided with a bottom hinge forming a retaining shoulder and an offset portion to extend across the top 9faiq Fawn W V 6. The assembly in claim 5 wherein is further provided a pivotal screw and nut fixed at the top of said forward wall, a U-shaped cutout in the top of said latch means for receiving said screw, whereby said transom is clamped in position when said nut is tightened. 

1. An outboard motor mounting assembly for attachment to reinforcing frame means of a vehicle comprising upstanding extensions attached to said frame means and adjacent to the stern but external of said vehicle, opposing recessees in said extensions, a portable transom for attachment of said outboard motor extending between said extensions and with the ends seated therein, and means for removably latching said transom in position in said recesses in said extensions with the motor in operating position whereby the thrust of the motor is borne solely by said frame means and the motor and transom may be easily removed for storage as a unit.
 2. The assembly in claim 1 wherein the upstanding extensions are integrally attached to exterior frame means.
 3. The assembly in claim 1 wherein said extensions are formed of box frame members and said recesses are formed by the rear walls and opposing inside walls cut out, the outside and forward walls being utilized to position said transom.
 4. The assembly in claim 3 wherein is provided pivotal latch means at the upper edge of said rear wall to secure said transom against removal.
 5. The assembly in claim 4 wherein the latch means is provided with a bottom hinge forming a retaining shoulder and an offset portion to extend across the top of said transom.
 6. The asembly in claim 5 wherein is further provided a pivotal screw and nut fixed at the top of said forward wall, a U-shaped cutout in the top of said latch means for receiving said screw, whereby said transom is clamped in position when said nut is tightened. 